This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 60/611,351, filed on Sep. 20, 2004. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a moveable barrier, curtain or shield used in conjunction with a seat, typically a vehicle seat cushion, and more particularly an obstruction, barrier, blockade, curtain or shield to prevent articles or objects on the seat from sliding or falling off the seat as the vehicle rapidly decelerates or rapidly turns.
Reference is briefly made to FIG. 15, which illustrates a typical automotive seat 20 having a seat back 22 and a cushion 24. The seat back and cushion are supported by one or more support structures or frames, as known in the art, such as the cushion frame 30, having parallel rails 32. The cushion is covered by a layer of padding, which is covered by an upholstery material 25 of choice. The top surface 26 of the material forms the seating surface. Various objects are often placed on this surface. In particular the passenger seat is often the repository for packages, newspapers, loose papers, eyeglasses, bottles, cups, etc.
FIG. 15 schematically illustrates a plurality of these objects such as 28a and b loosely placed on the seat cushion. FIG. 15 also shows another object or two, 28c and 28d, located on the floor 30 in front of the seat 20, to illustrate a condition in which these objects have already fallen from or slipped off from the seat cushion onto the floor or into the space between the door and the seat and the center console and the seat. The exterior side 33 (adjacent the door) of the cushion is often covered in part or whole by a rigid plastic trim panel 34. This panel often supports an adjustment lever that extends from the panel 34 or seat control buttons. (The lever or the buttons are not shown in FIG. 15.)
Most vehicle drivers or passengers have participated in the situation of having placed an article or object upon an adjacent, empty seat; the vehicle is then rapidly decelerated or the vehicle turns rapidly, thereby causing one or more objects to roll or slide off from the seating surface 26 onto the floor or become lodged between a side of the seat and a side of the vehicle, or lodged between an opposite side of the seat and a center console, creating a potentially dangerous situation. The danger is created when the driver's attention becomes diverted to look and determine what has slipped from the seat. Occasionally, the driver might even try to recover the object while the vehicle is in gear.
The present invention provides a solution to the above problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that prevents articles and objects from moving about or off from the seat cushion surface. Accordingly the invention comprises: a blocking mechanism or device for preventing objects from sliding off from a cushion of a seat when a vehicle experiences decelerations or a rapid change of direction. The device comprises a blocking member configured to be movable from a stored position below the top surface of the cushion to a blocking position above the top surface of the cushion to block any object on the cushion from moving off or about the seat
Many other objects and purposes of the invention will be clear from the following detailed description of the drawings.